Holiday WOD advice

Going on Holiday is by and large the main target a gym goer sets themselves. Avoiding embarrassment on the beach is an admirable goal. But we’re not in Towie, and if you’re reading this blog you’ve probably got a bit more about you.

That being said, it’s very easy to dip into a ‘get up – grab a crate of beer – sit on the beach – have lunch’ mentality.

While I was in Marbella surrounded by the Towie types I described above, my mind was elsewhere… and out came the Nano 4’s :D.

Unless you haven’t noticed, Spain is the most beautiful country with long weeping palm trees and most importantly, long and steep rolling hills…

HILL SPRINTS

It’s important to keep your body guessing in order to avoid a plateau – You know when you get to a point in your workout routine where you simply can’t seem to break the next barrier?

“To duck this you’ve got to change it up every now and then” Eddie Karl PT told Chin Strapped. “Take to the hills that those of us living in London rarely see and give yourself a different workout” he said.

Powering yourself up hills is a fitness type like no other, like when you get in a swimming pool thinking you’ve a set of lungs and have to stop after the second length.

Use this as a way to switch up your training. Pick a point at the top and the bottom of a steep hill, and do shuttle sprints.

Don’t stop! The way down is your rest and you’re a beafer* if you take a break. Do five, then we’ll move on.

HIKING

You’re also a beafer if you want to go and sit on a beach for two weeks. Get out and see your surroundings you lazy toe-rag. But bring water… plenty of it.

We took ourselves up La Concha behind Marbella, where sadly there is a tonne of redevelopment going on ruining the gorgeous countryside. We went over five peaks to get to a lake where we freshened up.

On the way there we took short breaks to test out our hamstrings with some hill sprints and a bit of climbing. My legs ached for days, it was great!

BURPEES ON THE BEACH

Maybe not on the sand because you’ll get a face full. Find yourself a spot and do 100 burpees for time. I found a set of pull up bars on the promenade and did this;

10 press ups

1 pull up

9 press ups

2 pull ups

and so on until…

1 press up

10 pull ups

Then I went for an ice cold beer.

Most importantly, enjoy yourself! Do workouts in areas you’re happy being. Good views, sun spots, on a pool side, or directly on front of the wannabee reality TV stars festering in their own fat… show them who’s really the boss.